Erebus: the story Of A ship

The remarkable story of a ship lost in the Arctic Author Michael Palin Publisher Random House Books Price £20 Released Out now

In 2014, marine archeologists discovered the wreck of HMS Erebus languishing far beneath the waters of the Arctic. From this discovery, Michael Palin uncovers the story of this remarkable ship from her days as a military vessel to her exploration of the Antarctic and beyond. This is the biography of the ship and the men who sailed on her.

Palin’s exhaustive research has taken him around the globe and as ever, he is a masterful storyteller with an innate ability to bring the world of the past to life. Within these pages the crew and commanders of Erebus come vividly to life and we travel with them from triumph into disaster.

This is not a happy story and it lingers long after the last page and the ship’s final, fatal voyage to the Northwest Passage. What lingers also is Palin’s own story of how he became fascinated with the story of Erebus and her various crewmen, both those who went onto great things and those who perished in horrendous circumstances when Erebus was lost.

This is also the story of the Victorian age of exploration and the hubris that so often accompanied it. It is an evocative and meticulously researched book and Palin’s passion for the project is evident on every page. It is indispensable reading not only for those with an interest in exploration, but for anyone who loves a good story. Erebus: The Story of a Ship is the biography that the ship and its crew deserve.